


Double Standards

by Chiomi



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Identity Reveal, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 13:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10742526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiomi/pseuds/Chiomi
Summary: Another akuma in a seemingly endless line proves a tipping point.





	Double Standards

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IFireStone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IFireStone/gifts).



> I tried to make it cute and kind of fluffy. I hope you at least like the way the reveal goes!

“Oh my God,” Alya breathed. “If he dies, I’m going to kill him.”

She still didn’t put down her phone, which probably wasn’t the most sensitive response to her boyfriend deciding to distract the latest villain by declaring a dance-off. But she had a responsibility to her audience and she was, as usual, the first reporter on-scene. Besides, Ladybug would fix anything that happened. But if she had to fix something major? If she had to bring him back from the dead? Alya was going to kill Nino.

It was a good thing Marinette had gone off to see what was keeping Adrien, or she’d probably be in the thick of it, too. Alya sometimes wondered how she’d gotten in a relationship with such reckless people, but then she had to admit that her own life and her own choices weren’t exactly overcautious. Her hands stayed steady on the phone, picture staying perfect, even as her heart beat harder at the sight of Nino doing what Chat Noir usually did and distracting the villain of the day in order to minimize the collateral damage. She knew, absolutely, why they did it: it was the same reason her hands were starting to sweat. Just because any hurts were erased didn’t mean they they didn’t happen, and it wasn’t fun to see them happen.

Alya only realized she’d focused in on Nino, followed him far more than the villain, when Ladybug swung in. She sighed in relief, and finally managed to track away from Nino. He fell back, finally, and grinned at her. Alya glared at him, but wouldn’t yell - it’d completely drown out the banter she was getting from the fight, and the Ladyblog didn’t need that level of personal detail.

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then murmured, “I’m gonna see if I can find Marinette and Adrien on the other side of the cordon.”

Alya nodded, keeping her eyes on the action and angling her phone to capture one of Ladybug’s more acrobatic flips.

Nino slipped away, bound for the cordon a block away. After three years of practice, the police could set them up quickly, and Parisians were largely indifferent except when the villain was a particularly good spectacle. The city had been through a vast number over the years, and thus had standards. Alya’s Ladyblog following had grown internationally, though, so there was still good reason to film every encounter. Well, good reason in addition to the sheer joy of watching Ladybug in action. And this one had a built in soundtrack, too, which was always a plus.

The battle came to the expected conclusion, though without Chat Noir ever showing up. After speaking a few quiet words to the victim, Ladybug came over to talk to Alya. Alya grinned at her. “Up for an interview? Where’s Chat Noir?”

Ladybug was watching her steadily, something unfathomable in her eyes. “He’s caught at work. Can you turn the camera off?”

Alya obligingly closed the video, and it started auto-synching to her cloud storage.

Ladybug crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away, seeming to shrink into herself. “I - look, I’ll do any interviews you want, but do you think you can stop racing towards the scene like this?”

“But why?” Alya asked, baffled. “It’s not like they’re ever targeting me, and even after that incident last week, your Miraculous ladybugs fixed everything. My leg was broken for like three minutes tops.”

An insistent beep came from Ladybug’s earrings, down to three spots. She made a frustrated noise and hustled Alya back into an alley. “The fact that it was broken at all is the problem. I don’t like seeing you hurt!”

“I -” Alya started, but then couldn’t continue, because Ladybug had found a very effective way to prevent further arguing. Her lips were firm and insistent on Alya’s. Alya had dreamed about this, had dreamed about kissing Ladybug. She and her datemates had very clear understandings that the superhero duo didn’t count as cheating. But this was - oh, this was more than she’d dreamed even on her most fevered nights. She’d kissed other girls than Marinette, and boys other than Nino and Adrien. Enough to know what she liked, and more: enough to recognize when similarities of style were too close to be coincidence. Her hero and one of her loves were one and the same. She threaded her fingers into Ladybug’s hair, sending her pigtails into disarray, and kissed Ladybug back. She kissed her with all the adoration and urgency she could pour into the contact, and so was breathless when another loud beep from Ladybug’s earrings broke them apart.

Ladybug pressed her forehead to Alya’s and stared intently into her eyes. “Please. I need you to be safe.”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk, Marinette,” Alya retorted, her other arm snaking around Ladybug’s waist so she couldn’t jerk back too far in surprise. “At least I stay on the sidelines. You should be yelling at Nino.”


End file.
